Street-sweeping mechanism



Dec. 15, 1925. 1,566,107,

E. c. LEACH 11, AL

STREET SWEEPING MEQHANISM Filed July 14. 1922 2 Shanta-Shut l Dec. 15, 1925 E. C. LEACH ET AL STREET SWEEPING MECHANISM Filed July 14, 1922 2 sm6=-sxmz 2 HUME IN V EN TOR.

A TTORNEYJ- A. u m

m a m Patented Dec. 15, 1925.

UNITED STATES 1,566,107 PATENT oFrIcE.

ELBERT C. LEACH AND EDGAR M. PLETT. 0F OSI-IKOSH, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNORS T0 OSH- KOSH MANUFACTURING (10., OF OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WIS v CONSIN.

STREET-SWEEPING MECHANISM. V

i Application filed. July 14-, 1922. Serial No. 574,945.

To (LZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ELBERT C. LEACH and EDGAR M. PLETT, citizens of the United States, and residents of Oshkosh, in the county of Winnebago and State of Visconsin. have invented new and useful Improvements in Street-Sweeping Mechanisms, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in street sweeping mechanisms and has for one of its objects to provide a power driven machine of the type in which the operator follows behind the sameand steers it in the direction in which he wishes it to go.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine of the class described carrying a small gasoline motor or other suitable source of power which is arranged to drive the various elements which perform the cleaning or. sweeping operations whereby it is only necessary for the operator to guide the device and controlthe performance of the functions of the various parts by controlling the motion transmitted from the said source of power.

A still further object of the invention is to rovide an apparatus of the class descrilied which is relatively small, compact, and self-contained, and which may be more easily and efliciently operated than those which have been heretofore proposed.

With. the above and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds the invention consists in the novel details of construction and combinations of parts more fully hereinafter disclosed and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which like numerals designate like parts in all the views; v

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of an apparatus constructed in accordance-with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 1; and,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, vertical, sectional view illustrating the mode of discharging the sweepings into the receptacle carried by the machine.

Referring to thesaid drawings the numeral 5 designates ahollow rectangular framework of any suitable construction but drive pulley 19.

may be supplied to the said shaft and preferably composed of the lower rectangular member 6 of angle iron and the upper rectangular member 7 of angle or channel iron, which members are suitably connected togetherin spaced relation by means of the front bearing blocks 8 and the rear upright member 9, all as will be clear from Fig. 1.

The said framework is. supported for movement over the ground by means of a front wheel 10 rigidly mounted on the front axle 11 journalled within the bearing blocks 8, as will be readily apparent, while the rear portion of the machine is supported by a pair of caster wheels 12, pivotally secured as at 13 to the rear spacing member 9. The rear end of the machine is also provided with a pair of upwardly inclined handle members 141 which terminate in the downwardly inclined handles 15 by means of which the machine may be guided over the ground.

Mounted upon the upper frame member 7 is a suitable internal combustion engine or other prime mover 16 which is provided with the crank shaft 17 fly-wheel 18 and a The said crank shaft 17 carries a sprocket wheel 20. which is provided with a suitable clutch mechanism 21 adapted to be controlled by a clutch lever 22 which is connected by means of a link 23 to a hand lever 24 pivotally carried by means of a transverse rod or bar 25, sup ported by the handle members 1a in operative relation to the handle portions 15.

A chain 26 passes around the sprocket 20 and also around a sprocket wheel 27 which is rigidly carried by a transverse shaft 28, journalled in suitable bearings 29, carried by the upper frame member 7. The said shaft 28 carries a pair of sprocket wheels 30 adjacent its opposite ends which are engaged by the sprocket chains 31 which pass around sprocket wheels 32, carried by the front supporting shaft 11, whereby power to the front traction wheel carried thereby.

The transverse shaft 28 also carries adjacent its ends the bevel gears 33 which mesh with the companion gears 34 rigid with the substantially vertical shafts 35, which are journalled in suitable bearings 36 and carry at their lower ends brush members 37. The said shafts 35 are inclined slightly toward the rear, as is clearly illustrated in Fig. 1, so that only the front portions of the brush members 37 engage the surface of the ground over which the machine passes, while the rear portions thereof are maintained out of engagement.

Since the parts are so designed and constructed that the forward portions of the brush members 37 always moved inwardly toward the center of the machine, it results that the dirt and other refuse which is engaged by these rotating brushes will be thrown inwardly toward the said center and into the path of the horizontal brush member, which is to be later described. The rear portions of the said brush members which would tend to throw the dirt outside of the machine are held out of engagement with the surface of the ground, and therefore are inoperative during that portion of their travel which would so dispose of the dirt.

The lower frame member 6 is provided with suitable bearing blocks 40 in which is journalled a transverse shaft 41 which extends entirely across the machine and to which is rigidly connected a pai of rocker arms The said rocker arms carry a transverse shaft 43 rotatably mounted in their free ends, upon which shaft there is positioned a. horizontal rotary brush 44, see Fig. 1. The said shaft 43 and brush 44 are rotated in a counter clock-wise direction, as seen in Fig. 1, by means of a sprocket wheel 45, around which passes a chain 46 which is driven by a sprocket wheel 47, carried by a transverse shaft 48, suitably iournalled in the upper frame member 7 The said shaft 48 is driven by means of a pair of spur gears 49 and 50. the latter of which is rigidly mounted upon the shaft- 28, as will be clear from Figs. 1 and 2.

The shaft 41, together with the rocker arms 42, shaft 43, and the brush member 44, may be oscillated about the axis of the said shaft 41 for the purpose of raising and lowering the brush 44, by means of a link 51 which connects one of the said rocker arms 42 with an adjusting hand lever 52, which is pivoted as at 53 to the upper frame member 7 and is provided with a spring controlled dog or catch 54 adapted to coact with the toothed segment 55 to maintain the parts in any desired positions in the usual and well-known manner.

Idler pulleys or wheels 56 are provided engaging the chains 46 to serve as tighteners to take up the slack in the said chains when the brush member 44 is raised, as above disclosed.

Immediately in front of the brush member 4 there is provided an inclined apron or chute 60, within which travels an endless conveyor 61 which is driven by means of the sprockets 62, carried by the upper transverse shaft 63, which sprockets are engaged by the chains 31 which drive the front traction wheel 10, as was above disclosed. A

sheet metal or other receptacle 65 is provided at the forward end of the frame 5 into which the said conveyor 61 is adapted to discharge at its upper end.

In operation the motor is started, and power is transmitted by means of the chain and sprocket connections 20. 26, 27, 30, 31, and 39,, to the front traction wheel 10. This will cause the apparatus to move over the surface to be swept and it may be guided in any desired direction by the operator who z sps the handles 15 for that purpose. The power is also transmitted from the shaft 28 through the bevel gears and to the substantially vertical shafts 35, which causes the rotation of the brush members 37 in opposite directions, which members throw any dirt or refuse in their path toward the center of the machine, as was above described. The dirt is then acted upon by the horizontal brush member 44 and thrown up into the chute 60, where it is picked up by the endless conveyor 61 and carried upwardly to the upper end thereof, from whence it is discharged into the receptacle 20 from which it may be removed at suitable intervals for final disposition.

The transmission of the power to the various elements may be controlled by the operator readily from his position at the rear of the machine throu h the medium of the controlling handle 24, link 23, and the clutch control lever 22, as was above described.

It will be obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the details of construction as well as the arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention, and therefore it is not wished to be limited to the above disclosure except as may be required by the claims.

lVhat is claimed is:

1. An apparatus of the class described comprising upper and lower spaced frame members; guiding handles carried by said 'upper frame member; bearing blocks secured to and spacing said frame members at one end; a drive shaft carrying a driving wheel journalled in said blocks; an upright spacing member secured to and spacing said frame members at their other ends; caster wheels carried by said upright member; a prime mover carried by said upper frame member; a countershaft journalled on said upper frame member; chain and sprocket driving connections between said prime mover and countershaft, and between said countershaft and driving shaft; a horizontal rotatable brush pivotally carried by said lower frame member; means including a lever and sector carried by said upper frame member and a connecting link, for raising and lowering said horizontal brush about its pivot; vertically mounted rotatable brushes disposed at the sides of said frame members, adapted to sweep refuse into the path of said horizontal brush; driving connections be tween said countershaft and said brushes; means carried by said upper frame member for maintaining the driving connections to said horizontal brush operative. in all positions; a receptacle carried by the forward end of said frame members; and a conveyor arranged to receive refuse from said horizontal brush and to convey it to said receptacle.

2. An apparatus of the class described comprising upper and lower spaced frame members, bearing blocks secured to and spacing said frame members at one end, a

drive shaft carr in a drivin wheel. 'ourm 23 D Q nalled in said blocks, an upright spacing member secured to and spacing said frame members at their other ends, caster wheels carried by said upright member, a prime mover carried by said upper frame member, a counter shaft journalled on said upper frame member, a driving connection between said prime mover and counter shaft, guiding handles carried by said upper frame member substantially directly above said caster 7 Wheels, means associated with said handles for disconnecting the driving connection be tween the prime mover and counter shaft, a. horizontal rotatable brush pivotally carried by said'lower frame member, means for raising and lowering said brush, means for locking said brush in predetermined adjusted position, vertically mounted rotatable brushes disposed at the sides of said frame members, adapted to sweep refuse into the path of said horizontal brush, driving connections between said counter shaft and said brushes, a receptacle carried by the forward end of said frame members, an endless belt conveyor arranged to receive refuse from said horizontal brush to convey it to said receptacle, and a driving connection between said eountershaft, and said drive shaft, said 1 connection adapted to simultaneously drive said endless belt conveyor.

In testimony whereof, we signatures.

aflix our ELBERT O. LEACH. EDGAR M. PLETT. 

